Loss in Glasgow sees Fiji third

Fiji skipper Osea Kolinisau on attack against Scotland during the Glasgow 7s at the Scotstoun Stadium in Scotland.Picture: MARTIN SERAS LIMA

THE Vodafone Fiji 7s side is 10 points adrift of second placed South Africa in the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series points table.

The Ben Ryan-coached side finished third in the Glasgow 7s in Scotland after beating the hosts 17-10 in the 3rd/4th place playoff.

The side lost to eventual winners New Zealand in the semi-final 14-19 after beating England 14-12 in the quarter-final.

The All Blacks 7s edged closer to clinching its 12th series title after thrashing surprise finalist Canada 54-7 in the final.

Fiji, which is placed third in the series, has 129 points and is within the fighting distance for the second place finish.

New Zealand maintains its lead on 158 while South Africa is second on 139 and England on fourth with 117 points.

Coach Ryan hopes to finish on a high in the final tournament in London this weekend.

Fiji is placed in Pool C with Australia, Spain and Japan.

"Congratulations to NZ and Canada for playing so well this weekend. All our squad healthy so no changes for London. Big finale I'm sure," Ryan tweeted.

The Osea Kolinisau-skippered side will play Spain in its opening pool match at 8.44pm on Saturday followed by the match against Japan at 11.50pm.

In the final pool match, Fiji takes on Australia at 3.38am on Sunday.

Reactions (from IRB)

Tom Mitchell, England captain, Plate winners: "The thing we are most happy with is the heart shown by the boys to turn it around and the effort was really there in those last two games. It is always great to have home support, Scotland have done so well this week and it is great to know we are heading home to play at Twickenham in front of a home crowd and now we can start getting excited about it."

Frederic Pommarel, France coach, Bowl winners: "I am happy, it is a good tournament for France, with four wins. We lost against Canada, but they are now a great team. It was a very difficult season for France, but now it is better and I hope for England."

Adam Thomas, Wales captain, Bowl winners: "It is a frustrating two days, we were chasing too many games. But to finish with two wins is a bit of momentum going into next weekend. London is a massive tournament, a chance for our family and friends to come and watch and we will go out all guns blazing."

Phil Mack, Canada captain, on reaching Cup final: "It is huge for the team. We started something good in Vegas. Always a special team but this group has the belief and that it is something good."

Ben Ryan, Fiji coach: "I trust the boys 100 per cent in these conditions, it rains a lot in Suva. We are relishing the opportunity to have a crack at the All Blacks. The crowd here will have 14 minutes of excitement."

Gavin Hastings, HSBC Ambassador: "Where Scotland have profited is Nick and Richie coming in and adding to the squad. The team have a belief now, with London and Commonwealth Games. It is great for the crowd to seeing them doing so well."